Join the Fort Monroe Authority, National Park Service, Project 1619, and the City of Hampton on Saturday, August 21, at 11 a.m. for the 2021 Commemoration of the First Enslaved African Landing special program. The multi-day event is centered around the 400th anniversary of the landing of the first enslaved Africans in English-occupied North America at Point Comfort in 1619. As recorded by English colonist John Rolfe, the arrival of “20. and odd” African men and women at Point Comfort in late August 1619, was a pivotal moment in the nation’s history. Stolen by English privateers from a Spanish slave ship and brought to Point Comfort on a ship called the White Lion, these natives of west central Africa are believed to have been traded for food and supplies. They were the first Africans to be brought to English North America. The site of the ship’s arrival is the present site of Fort Monroe National Monument in Hampton, Virginia. More Information